U.S. #ClimateMayors working together to advance local climate action, national emission reduction policies, & the Paris Climate Agreement www.climate-mayors.org

Mar 28

#ClimateMayors Letter to President Trump on Roll Back of US Climate Actions

March 28, 2017

Dear President Trump,

As members of the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda (MNCAA), we represent more than 42 million Americans in 75 cities across our nation — in red and blue states alike. We write to strongly object to your actions to roll back critically important U.S. climate policies including the Clean Power Plan and vehicle fuel efficiency standards, as well as proposed budget cuts to the EPA and critical federal programs like Energy Star.

Climate change is both the greatest single threat we face, and our greatest economic opportunity for our nation. That is why we affirm our cities’ commitments to taking every action possible to achieve the principles and goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, and to engage states, businesses and other sectors to join us.

U.S. Climate Mayors meeting with their counterparts from China at the U.S. China Climate Summit in Los Angeles 2015

As Mayors, we work with our constituents face-to-face, every day, and they demand that we act on climate to improve quality of life and create economic growth. As public servants and stewards of public funds and infrastructure, we also cannot ignore the costs of inaction. That is why we are also standing up for our constituents and all Americans harmed by climate change, including those most vulnerable among us: coastal residents confronting erosion and sea level rise; young and old alike suffering from worsening air pollution and at risk during heatwaves; mountain residents engulfed by wildfires; farmers struggling at harvest time due to drought; and communities across our nation challenged by extreme weather.

The private sector recognizes the opportunities of climate action as well. Goldman Sachs is committing $150 billion to clean energy capital. Companies like Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and Google are some of the largest purchasers of solar and renewable energy. Today, one in fifty American jobs is now in the solar sector, surpassing employment in oil, gas, and coal extraction combined. Texas is once again experiencing an energy boom — this time, with wind power. In fact, the majority of wind jobs in the U.S. are in congressional districts that voted for you.

As the “Climate Mayors”, we wrote to you during your transition asking that you work with cities on climate action — the nation’s first responders and economic hubs — and to embrace the Paris Climate Agreement commitment. Instead, we fear your Administration’s recent actions and today’s executive order will undermine America’s leadership on climate action, if not take us backwards.

We urge you to change course, and to join us. In the meantime, America’s cities will continue to lead the way in moving forward in protecting our residents from the disastrous effects of climate change, and creating a thriving 21st century economy.

Sincerely,

Mayor Eric GarcettiCity of Los Angeles, CA

Mayor Ed MurrayCity of Seattle, WA

Mayor Lioneld JordanCity of Fayetteville, AR

Mayor Kasim ReedCity of Atlanta, GA

Mayor Martin J WalshCity of Boston, MA

Mayor Rahm EmanuelCity of Chicago, IL

Mayor Sylvester TurnerCity of Houston, TX

Mayor Bill de BlasioNew York City, NY

Mayor Jim KenneyCity of Philadelphia, PA

Mayor Ed LeeCity of San Francisco, CA

Mayor Sam LiccardoCity of San Jose, CA

Mayor Muriel BowserWashington, D.C.

Mayor Esther ManheimerCity of Asheville, NC

Mayor Steve SkadronCity of Aspen, CO

Mayor Steve AdlerCity of Austin, TX

Mayor Suzanne JonesCity of Boulder, CO

Mayor John HamiltonCity of Bloomington, IN

Mayor Miro WeinbergerCity of Burlington, VT

Mayor Mary Casillas SalasCity of Chula Vista, CA

Mayor Stephen K BenjaminCity of Columbia, SC

Mayor Michael HancockCity of Denver, CO

Mayor Roy D BuolCity of Dubuque, IA

Mayor William V BellCity of Durham, NC

Mayor David KaptainCity of Elgin, IL

Mayor Lucy VinisCity of Eugene, OR

Mayor Elizabeth TisdahlCity of Evanston, IL

Mayor Madeline RogeroCity of Knoxville, TN

Mayor Dennis CoombsCity of Longmont, CO

Mayor Robert GarciaCity of Long Beach, CA

Mayor Philip LevineCity of Miami Beach, FL

Mayor Tom BarrettCity of Milwaukee, WI

Mayor Mark GambaCity of Milwaukie, OR

Mayor Betsy HodgesCity of Minneapolis, MN

Mayor John HollarCity of Montpelier, VT

Mayor Jon MitchellCity of New Bedford, MA

Mayor Mitch LandrieuCity of New Orleans, LA

Mayor Libby SchaafCity of Oakland, CA

Mayor Buddy DyerCity of Orlando, FL

Mayor Greg ScharffCity of Palo Alto, CA

Mayor Jack ThomasPark City, UT

Mayor Bill PedutoCity of Pittsburgh, PA

Mayor Ted WheelerCity of Portland, OR

Mayor Liz LempertMunicipality of Princeton, NJ

Mayor Jorge ElorzaCity of Providence, RI

Mayor Alan GalbraithCity of Saint Helena, CA

Mayor Jackie BiskupskiSalt Lake City, UT

Mayor Pauline Russo CutterCity of San Leandro, CA

Mayor Ted WintererCity of Santa Monica, CA

Mayor Joe CurtatoneCity of Somerville, MA

Mayor Glenn HendricksCity of Sunnyvale, CA

Mayor Marilyn StricklandCity of Tacoma, WA

Mayor Jonathan RothschildCity of Tucson, AZ

Mayor Jeri MuoioCity of West Palm Beach, FL

Mayor Christopher CabaldonCity of West Sacramento, CA

Mayor Allen JoinesCity of Winston Salem, NC

Updated signatories as of 10am PT on April 5, 2017

If you would like to sign this open letter, or require further information about #ClimateMayors (the MNCAA) and its activities please email info@climate-mayors.org